Method of treating and using plywood



Dec. 5, 1939. H. J. RIES METHOD OF .TREATING AND usme PLYwobD Filed March 19, 1938 5 R5 mm ma NM 14 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF TREATING AND USING PLYWOOD Herman J. Ries, New York, N. Y., assignor to Percy W. Valentine, Brooklyn, N. Y.

This invention relates to the production of a new article of manufacture by the method of treating and facing plywood to adapt the resulting article to many uses, and particularly in pro- 5 ducing irregular or curved contours or wall structures from the treated and faced laminated plyboard, and the object of the invention is to provide a method of preparing a sheet or strip product of the character described by securing to a lo strip or sheet of plywood one or two facings of canvas or other fibrous material in a manner which will render the resulting product soft and pliable throughout to adapt it to relatively sharp bending, folding or shaping, thereby permitting 15 the use of the product for producing wall structures of irregular contour and design, a further objectbeing to produce worksheets or pieces of predetermined shape and contour and then attaching the canvas or other facings thereto to provide free flanged edges of the facings beyond the edges of the workpiece to facilitate attachment of the sheet to other wall portions disposed angularly to or extending from the edge of the worksheet to reinforce the attachment of the 25 sheets one with respect to the other or the mounting of the workpiece in connection with another support, and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in the method of making articles of manufacture of the char- 30 acter described as more fully hereinafter set forth and adapted for use in the production of merchandise as hereinafter described.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying draw- 35 ing forms a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the part of a 0 sheet of canvas or similar fabric material employed as a facing element. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a plywood strip or sheet to which the facing 01 Fig. 1 may be attached. 43 Fig. 3 is a sectional detail view showing the facing of Fig. 1 attached to a plywood strip as in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing two facings applied to the plywood.

.10 Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing two different types of facings on the plywood.

Fig. 6 is a sectional and partially perspective view diagrammatically illustrating one method of using the articles produced according to my in- 55 vention.

. molds, forms or presses. 'has been costly and furthermore unsatisfactory Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another form of article illustrating another use of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a partial section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 on an enlarged scale, and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing an- 5 other step in the production of a box or case.

In the art of shaping wood strips or sheets of various kinds and classes, it has been a common practice to steam or otherwise moisten a sheet to render it soft for the purpose of shap- 10 ing the same and then to shape the sheet in This practice, however,

in that the resulting article would become distorted, have a tendency to crack or break down and furthermore has been limited with respect to its uses; that is to say sharp bends or small radius curves could not be satisfactorily produced in the finished product.

In overcoming these objectionable features, I preferably use a relatively thin plywood, a piece of which is shown at H) in Fig. 2 of the drawing. This wood in the construction shown consists of an upper and lower ply Illa, lb and an intermediate ply l0c. While several types of wood may be used in the construction of the plyboard l0 and any number of laminations or plies may be provided within certain limits, I have found that where excessive bending and shaping is .desired, the best results are obtained in the use of plywood construction from birch. This is especially true of plywood purchased from Finland. I This Finland birch can be supplied in very thin sheets of three-ply thickness and will permit a substantial right angle bending or other free formation of the sheet so as to adapt it for many uses as more fully hereinafter set. forth.

In carrying out my method I also employ one or two facing sheets H, l2, a single sheet being used as in Fig. 3 and a double sheet as in Fig. 4. 4 These sheets may be composed of canvas, buckram or other fibrous materiaLdepending upon the use to which the invention is applied and may be composed of muslin', linen, etc. In Fig. 5 of the drawing I have shown a sheet, for example like the sheet H, on one surface of the plyboard, whereas a sheet 13 of contrasting material, thickness, 'color or the like is disposed upon the other surface, and in order to distinguish the facing H from the facing l3, the latter facing is shown thicker.

In producing products such as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 in accordance with my method, I first prepare a paste for securing the facing sheets ll, 12 and I3 to the plyboard [0. This paste,

for example, may consist of flour, patent paste, salt, ether and water, the relative proportions being as follows: 10 lbs. of flour, lbs. of patent paste, 1 lb. of salt, 16 fluid ozs. of ether and 2 5 quarts of water. It will of course be understood that the exact proportions of the ingredients and the exact ingredients are not absolutely necessary for producing the desired results, as the illustration given is only to demonstrate a practical method of carrying my invention into effect.

It is also desirable to prepare the paste or adhesive in the form of a fairly thick mass prior to adding the ether thereto, and the ether may be added to dilute the paste to a proper consistency,

or additional water may also be added for this purpose.

I also use a solution consisting of substantially 5 lbs. of washing soda to 2 qts. of water. In carrying my invention into effect, the soda solution is first applied to both surfaces of the plyboard It] by means of a brush or other applicator to fully saturate both surface of the plywood. A number of boards or sheets similar to ill may be so treated and allowed to remain under a cover or press for a period of about five minutes so as to avoid quick drying and distortion of the sheet.

I next apply the paste to the surface of the fabric sheet which is to be arranged adjacent the board III. This sheet is then stretched, pulled or otherwise smoothed on one surface of the plyboard l0. Suitable rollers may be used for this purpose if desired, although in handling small sheets the hands of an operator will be sufficient. In attaching the sheet II to the board ID, in certain uses of the invention, it is desirable to allow the edge or edges of the sheet II to protrude beyond the edge or edges of the board Ill as seen at Ila. This may also be true of the sheet I2 as seen at In and the sheet l3 as seen at l3a. If the double-facing ll, I2 is to be used as in Fig. 4, it will be understood that the sheet I2 is treated and applied in the same manner as the sheet II. This also applies to the construction shown in Fig. 5 where the sheets II and I3 are applied.

After the desired facing or facings are attached to the board II], the product thus produced is then immediately placed in a suitable form, die,

mold or the like may immediately be wrapped around or attached to an irregular surface for which it is to constitute a facing. In some instances the resulting product may be simply put in a press and dried, or left straight for producing straight or flat walled structures of a reinforced type. However, my invention relates primarily to constructing worksheets of the character under consideration which are capable of being formed into curved or irregular contours and which will remain in the contours desired.

The worksheets or parts of the plywood as well as the facing or facings will be cut to the contour of the particular product to be formed. This will be done preferably before the facings are applied to the plyboard, thus producing workpieces which will serve definite purposes. These workpieces when placed in the press, mold, or the like to shape the same, are allowed to dry, either under natural conditions or by the application of heat or by placing the same in a heated room or compartment. When properly dried, the same may be utilized in the construction of the particular article in question, as for example the articles diagrammatically illustrated in Figs. 6 15 and 7.

In Fig. 6 is shown a diagrammatic illustration of two suitcase parts and the worksheets producing predetermined wall structures of said parts are illustrated at l4 and [5 by a single cross section to simplify the illustration. It will be understood, however, that these parts represent, for example, the workpiece produced as in Fig.4; that is to say the plyboard having the two facings II and I2 thereon. In one instance the worksheet forms a side wall It and integral end walls |6a of a cover part I! of a case whereas, in the other instance, the worksheet forms a side wall I8 and integral end walls l8a of a case part proper l9. The Walls l6, l6a, l8, l8a are secured to independent top and bottom walls through the medium of the flanges of the sheets, one of which is shown at I2a in Fig. 6 and one of said walls being indicated at 20.

' From the foregoing it will be understood that the workpiece forming the side and end walls of the cover and case parts l1, l9 may simply be placed in a press or form which will curl the ends of the sheet to produce the integral end wall parts lGa, l8a, and allowing these parts to dry sufliciently to permit their attachment to the top and bottom walls in completing the formation of the cover and case parts after which the entire suitcase will have additional facings and trimmings as well as the hardware applied thereto in accordance with conventional practices.

Differentiating from the structure of Fig. 6, I have shown in Fig. 7 one part of a box or suitcase 21 which is constructed from a workpiece or strip made according to my invention, especially as taught in Fig. 4, to form a top wall 22, side walls 220. and a bottom wall 22b of the case 2|, the worksheet being placed around a suitable form or block of a contour similiar to that shown in the resulting case 2|, and so as to form the rounded upper corners 23 and sharper lower corners 24. The ends of the workpiece are joined at any convenient point, for example as indicated in dotted lines at 25, which point of juncture may be reinforced in any desired manner. Part of this-reinforcement may consist of a protruding flange 25a of the facing sheets, for example the sheets i I, I2 being disposed in overlapped position at the seam 25.

With the construction shown in Fig. 7 the side wall 26 of the case part is attached to one side edge of the wall portions 22, 22a, 22b. In accomwall 26. With this construction and especially in,

making large boxes or cases, the flanges Ha, In at the other side of the walls 22, 22a, 22?) are wrapped around and secured to a reinforcing wire or rod 21 disposed upon the inner surface of the open side of the box or case 2|. In other words, it will be understood that the method of attaching the top, bottom and end walls of the part 2| to the side wall 26 will be the same as the attachment of the top and bottom walls, for example the wall 20 with the case parts I1, IS in the structure shown in Fig. 6.

. In Fig. 9 of. the drawing I have indicated a corner construction of the case as seen in Fig. 8, showing outer facings 28, 29 applied to the wall parts 22, 26 in addition to a reinforced corner strip of leather or other reinforcing material as at 30, which is stitched by wire stitching or the like as at 3| to the wall parts. However, this deals with the final trimming of the suitcase or other product. This, as previously stated, forms no direct part of the present invention, it being understood that inner facings or trimmings of various kinds and classes may also be used.

The purpose of the two illustrations in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing is to show certain adaptations of my invention in forming what is commonly referred to as suitcases or traveling bags wherein the large side walls of the case and end walls are integrally united in a workpiece made according to my invention. On the other hand, as in Fig. 7, the side wall may be of the usual or any desired construction, and the top, end and bottom walls are united. In some instances the bottom Wall may also be separably formed and the workpiece made according to my invention may terminate at the corners 24.

The two illustrations in the accompanying drawing show what may be termed simple adaptations of the invention, it being understood that my improved workpieces may be utilized in the formation of cases, containers or the like of any kind or class and of many irregular contours, such for example as in producing mandolin, banjo, guitar and similar musical instrument cases and cases for other instruments of the irregular shapes and forms governed by the contour of the instrument to a large degree, and also in producing articles of manufacture apart from the use as containers. For example, the invention may be utilized in the construction of walls of buildings of irregular contour and in constructing display devices such as displays for various types and kinds of exhibits, window displays and the like.

In this connection it will be understood that when the worksheet has been permitted to dry in a given shape and contour controlled by the use of forms, molds, dies, frames or the like, the resulting formed workpiece will maintain its shape and contour unless subjected to an excessive amount of moisture. This is especially true when the curved or irregular shaped wall structure of the article is supported in conjunction with other walls or is arranged within outer facing sheets or other protective coatings.

The peculiarity of an article or workpiece made according to my invention lies in the fact that when once shaped into the desired irregular contour, the same will not become warped or distorted when exposed to varying temperature conditions to which articles of this type may be normally subjected.

It is conceivable however, that my invention may be utilized in the construction of boats, canoes and the like by the application of suitable inner and-outer protective layers of coating materials which will prevent moisture from contacting the worksheet employed, it being understood that the usual type of reinforcements will be provided in manufacturing devices or articles of manufacture of any kind or class.

It will also be apparent that my improved product may be utilized in the construction of the body portions or wall structures of various types and kinds of vehicles such as aeroplanes, trailers and the like.

In the construction of luggage, one of the dis tinctive advantages of my invention resides in the fact that very light-weight or so-called aeroplane luggage can be produced, and yet the resulting suitcase or other container constituting the luggage will be strong and durable and will maintain its shape and contour, and still further can be produced at a nominal cost. I have produced cases wherein the plywood as at III is ml of an inch or less in total thickness. It will thus be seen that a complete case including one or two of the facings together with the additional trimmings and reinforcements will naturally -be considerably less in weight than other articles of this type. In view of the strength in the wall structure of the box made according to my invention, I have found that thinner facing or trimming fabrics can be used.

Where the question of weight is not a factor, a thicker plywood and an additional number of plies in the plyboard may be provided. However, I have found from experience that thick plywood running above {kths of an inch cannot be employed and in fact best results are obtained with plywood not much greater than finds in thickness.

Another distinctive feature of my invention, for example in the construction of luggage, the stitchings as at 3! may be disposed closer to the corners than in conventional practices, first by reason of the fact that reinforced corner pieces are eliminated and further by reason of the sharp inner corners produced by my process. This effects a saving in the width of the outer reinforcing strips an employed and the resulting saving in weight in the entire piece of luggage. It will of course be understood that suitable reinforcing strips will be provided for reinforcing the mounting of hardware such as handles, locks, catch devices and the like in connection with the thin walled structure, but such reinforcements are also well known in this art.

In order that the characteristics of my product may be understood and especially in its assembled state prior to placement in the forming means, such for example as a press, die, or frame, it will be understood that the entire product is so soft and pliable as to be readily bent in substantially any shape to dispose adjacent sections in angular relationship with respect to each other so that the product can actually be die formed, provided the structure of the die will not necessitate drawing of the material to any appreciable degree. I have thus found that the sharp bending and many irregular contours can be produced without the result of cracking or splitting the plyboard when the resulting product is dry.

This is especially true in utilizing thin plywood of the Finland birch type.

It will be understood that the consistency of the paste or binder utilized for adhering or uniting the facings H, H and l3 may be varied to suit the particular type and kind of facing employed. However, I have found in using a paste substantially of the kind herein mentioned that an adhesion or binding is effected between the saturated plyboard and the facing sheet when cemented or pasted thereto and allowed to dry in the contour defined by the press, mold, frame or die employed.

In the production of small articles of manufac- It is understood in this connection that the flanges such as Ha, Ha are secured to adjacent wall parts by cementing, gluing or the like in accordance with conventional practices in securing adjacent wall parts together in constructing luggage.

In utilizing the single-faced worksheet it will be apparent that the single facing ll may be disposed on the inner and outer surface of the resulting product, but as a general rule would be used externally in the construction of luggage.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. The herein described method of forming plywood products of the character described which consists in using a thin plyboard, saturating both surfaces of the board with a soda solution, then applying a paste to a fabric sheet, then arranging the sheet thus treated upon the saturated board and smoothing said sheet over the board to lie snugly thereon, then immediately placing the board covered with said sheet in a suitable shaping means to bend or fold predetermined sections or areas thereof into a predetermined contour, then drying the same while supported in said means, and then removing the resulting product and utilizing the same for an intended purpose.

2. The herein described method of forming plywood products of the character described which consists in using a thin plyboard, saturatingboth surfaces of the board with a soda solution, then applying a paste to a fabric sheet, then arranging the sheet thus treated upon the saturated board and smoothing said sheet over the board to lie snugly thereon, then immediately placing the board covered with said sheet in a suitable shaping means to bend or fold predetermined sections or areas thereof into a predetermined contour, then drying the same while supported in said means, then removing the resulting product and utilizing the same for an intended purpose, arranging edge portions of the fabric sheet beyond corresponding edge portions of said board to form coupling flanges, and utilizing said flanges as a means for joining the product to adjacent supports in the construction of predetermined articles of manufacture.

3; The herein described method of forming plywood products of the character described which consists in using a thin plyboard, saturating both surfaces of the board with a soda solution, then applying a paste to a fabric sheet, then arranging the sheet thus treated upon the saturated board and smoothing said sheet over the board to lie snugly thereon, then immediately placing the board covered with said sheet in a suitable shaping means to bend or fold predetermined sections or areas thereof into a predetermined contour, then drying the same while supported in said means, then removing the resulting product and utilizing the same for an intended purpose, arranging edge portions of the fabric sheet beyond corresponding edge portions of said board to form coupling flanges, utilizing said flanges as a means for joining the prod ct to adjacent supports in the construction of predetermined articles of manufacture, and arranging and securing a facing sheet to each side of said plyboard.

4, The herein described method of forming plywood products of the character described which consists in using a thin plyboard, saturating both surfaces of the board with a soda solution, then applying a paste to a fabric sheet, then arranging the sheet thus treated upon the saturated board and smoothing said sheet over the board to lie snugly thereon, then immedl- 5 ately placing the board covered with said sheet in a suitable shaping means to bend or fold predetermined sections or areas thereof into a predetermined contour, then drying the same while supported in said means, then removing the re- 1 sulting product and utilizing the same for an intended purpose, arranging edge portions of the fabric sheet beyond corresponding edge portions of said board to form coupling flanges, utilizing said flanges as a means for joining the 1 product to adjacent supports in the construction of predetermined articles of manufacture, arranging and securing a facing sheet to each side of said plyboard, and utilizing one facing sheet of a character contrasting to that of the otherfacing sheet.

, 5. The herein described method of producingreinforced plywood sheets adapted for use in producing workpieces of irregular contour and including sharply distorted sections or areas, which consists in employing a thin plyboard composed of birch wood, thoroughly saturating both surfaces of the plyboard with a suitable colorless saturant, then securing a fabric facing sheet to one surface of the plyboard by utiliz- 3 ing a paste adhesive agent including small portions of salt and ether, firmly pressing and smoothing the fabric facing sheet to said plyboard, then immediately placing the resulting product in a forming means, distorting the prod- 3 not thus formed by said forming means to the irregular contour patterned by said forming means, allowing the product to dry in the forming means, and then removing the same therefrom.

6. The herein described method of' producing reinforced plywood sheets adapted for use in producing workpieces of irregular contour and including sharply distorted sections or areas, which consists in employing a thin plyboard composed of birch wood, thoroughly saturating both surfaces of the plyboard with a suitable colorless saturant, then securing a fabric facing sheet to one surface of the plyboard by utilizing a paste adhesive agent including small portions of salt and ether, firmly pressing and smoothing the fabric facing sheet to said plyboard, then immediately placing the resulting product in orming means, distorting the product thus formed by said forming means to the irregular contour patterned by said forming means, allowing the product to dry in the forming means, then removing the same therefrom, and arranging predetermined portions of the facing sheet beyond edges of said plyboard to form coupling flanges on the resulting article facilitating attachment of the article to predetermined supports.

7. The herein described method of forming integral angularly arranged wall parts'of predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in providing a thin flat plyboard of the contour of the unitary wall parts to be formed, applying a fabric facing to at least one surface of said plyboard by first saturating the plyboard and then securing the facing thereto by means I of a paste to establish a firm binding between the facing and said plyboard, then placing the board and fabric facing thus treated and united Y and while in the soft and pliable state in a pre- 7 determined forming means for producing the desired integral angularly arranged wall portions, drying the workpiece while maintained in said last named means, and then removing the finished product, consisting of angularly arranged unitary walls, therefrom.

8. The herein described method of forming integral angularly arranged wall parts of predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in providing a thin fiat plyboard of the contour of the unitary wall parts to be formed, applying a fabric facing to-at least one surface of said plyboard by first saturating the plyboard and then securing the facing thereto by means of a paste to establish a firm binding between the facing and said plyboard, then placing the board and fabric facing thus treated and united and while in the soft and pliable state in a predetermined forming means for producing the desired integral angularly arranged wall portions, drying the workpiece while maintained in said last named means, then removing the finished product, consisting of angularly arranged unitary walls, therefrom, and forming projecting flanges on the fabric facing for securing predetermined edges of the resulting product to adjacent supports in the construction of predetermined articles of manufacture.

9, The herein described method of forming box or case parts for predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in saturating a thin plyboard to soften the same, cementing a fabric facing to at least one surface of the plyboard while in its saturated and soft state, then shaping the product thus formed by a suitable mold to distort the soft sheet and board to form at least two angularly disposed walls of a box or case, allowing the product to dry to fixedly retain the angular walls in said angular relationship, and then securing said part of the box to another wall part or parts of a contour conforming with the edges of the angulai l'y arranged walls of the first named part.

10'. The herein described method of forming box or case parts for predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in saturating a thin plyboard to soften the same, cementing a fabric facing to at least one surface of the plyboard while in its saturated and soft state, then shaping the product thus formed by a suitable mold to distort the soft sheet and board to form at least two angularly disposed walls of a box or case, allowing the product to dry to fixedly retain the angular walls in said angular relation- 65 ship, then securing said part of the box to another wall part or parts of a contour conforming with the edges of the angularly arranged walls of the first named part, providing on predetermined edges of the first named part projecting flanges formed from the facing material employed, and extending said fianges onto the second named wall part in securing said parts together.

11. The herein described method of forming box or case parts for predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in saturating a thin plyboard to soften the same, cementing a fabric facing to at least one surface of the plyboard while in its saturated and soft state, then shaping the product thus formed by a suitable mold to distort the soft sheet and board to form at least two angularly disposed walls of a box or case, allowing the product to dry to fixedly retain the angular walls in said angular relationship, then securing said part of the box to another wall part or parts of a contour conforming with the edges of the angularly arranged walls of the first named part, providing on predetermined edges of the first named part projecting flanges formed from the facing material employed, extending said flanges onto the second named wall part in securing said parts together, and arranging projecting flanges of inner and outer fabric facing sheets of the first named part upon inner and outer surfaces of the second named part.

12. The herein described method of forming box or case parts for predetermined articles of manufacture which consists in saturating a thin plyboard to soften the same, cementing a fabric facing to at least one surface 'of the plyboard while in its saturated and soft state, then shaping the product thus formed by a suitable mold to distort the soft sheet and board to form at least two angularly disposed walls of a box or case, allowing the product to dry to fixedly retain the angular walls in said angular relationship, then securing said part of the box to another wall part or parts of a contour conforming with the edges of the angularly arranged walls of the first named part, providing on predetermined edges of,the first named part projecting flanges formed from the facing material employed, extending said flanges onto the second named wall part in securing said parts together, and utilizing projecting flanges of the first named part to support reinforcing members at free edges of the first named part.

HERMAN J. RIES. 

